3 positives for Unai Emery from Arsenal's 5-1 mauling of Fulham | Premier League 2018/19

Alexandre Lacazette scored the first goal in the 29th minute when he controlled a Nacho Monreal cross, turned around scored past Bettinelli. A mistake from Nacho Monreal gave Fulham the equalizer but the second half was one-way traffic. The second half showed that this Arsenal team has a stomach to fight, to play their game in the away matches too.

Aaron Ramsey's goal took us back to the time Arsenal played one-touch football with precision and the fans sang ‘We have got our Arsenal back’. A display of controlled aggression after Fulham equalized in the first half and the style in all the goals scored made it a perfect weekend for the Gunners before the international break.

Gunners looked crisp and purposeful in possession, especially through Mkhitaryan and Lacazette. Second half goals from Lacazette, Aubameyang, and Ramsey finished a great performance from Arsenal with an unexpected 5-1 scoreline. Arsenal had to work hard to put holes through the determined Fulham defence.

There were no major mistakes made by Fulham, but Arsenal's resolve to use every opportunity to score put a dent in Fulham's hopes. Ramsey's goal was the talk of the town and Twitter went crazy in comparing that goal to some of the best Arsenal have scored over the years.

We take a look at the 3 positives Unai Emery can take away from this match.

#3 Arsenal can create without Ozil

Good thing for Gunners is that they have enough creative players in their ranks

Ozil missed today's match due to back spasms. He has been missing many matches of late and his fitness is a major doubt nowadays. But the good thing for Gunners is that they have enough creative players in their ranks who can step up when needed.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan was the chief creator today after entrusted upon the no 10 role. Mkhitaryan showed good understanding with Lacazette and Welbeck in the first half and then with Ramsey in the second. His pass for Aubameyang which resulted in Ramsey's wonder goal was precise. Also, Iwobi had an excellent first half where he was a strong force on the left wing.

The presence of 2-3 players in the same role as Ozil has given Unai some options to try on.

#2 Laca-Auba partnership can be a threat for years to come

Lacazette and Aubameyang are good friends on and off the pitch

The dream period for Arsenal was when the Henry-Bergkamp partnership was scoring goals for fun. Arsenal tried a lot of strikers after that but never were they as ruthless as the legendary duo.

In Laca-Auba partnership, the Gunners have finally got a chance to replicate the early 2000s success. Lacazette and Aubameyang are good friends on and off the pitch. They have scored 9 goals together this season for Arsenal. They can link up well and rotate their positions to create havoc in opposition defence.

Unai Emery should be praised for designing a system that occupies both players, something Wenger had failed to do.

#1 The bench strength

Welbeck, Iwobi, and Mkhitaryan proved that they are the same team without many first team players

Today's match was not only about the number of goals scored by Arsenal. It was also about them playing without many regular starters in an important away match and still getting the 3 points with ease.

Ramsey, Ozil, and Aubameyang didn't start for various reasons, but Welbeck, Iwobi and Mkhitaryan proved that they are the same team without many starters. In defence, Rob Holding played brilliantly and filled in for Sokratis who played the full 90 minutes on Thursday in Azerbaijan.

Competition for places is a good thing and given that Unai Emery takes the Europa league seriously, the bench strength will be useful in the hectic fixtures coming up in a few weeks time.